


Desires Above Duty

by Lady_Katana4544



Series: Femslashfics (2018) [17]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, F/F, Femslash, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-06 05:34:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15879579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Katana4544/pseuds/Lady_Katana4544
Summary: Hope you enjoy, Spooky. :)





	Desires Above Duty

**Author's Note:**

  * For [spookykingdomstarlight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookykingdomstarlight/gifts).



> Hope you enjoy, Spooky. :)

"You can not follow me."

"I know. I wish that I could go with you, but it seems here is where our paths must part, for now, my love."

"Indeed."

Their eyes meet over what seems like a long distance before one of them reached out toward the other person. Gently taking hold of their hand and reveling in the warmth of their touch before squeezing the cloth covered hand with a small smile.

"One last kiss for the road?"

"I would not object to it."

Their lips meet in a soft clash of warmth for several seconds before the two of them pull apart, breathing softly. One of the two smiles again.

"Take care of yourself."

"You as well, my heart."

*

Neria silently stared up at the battlements of Skyhold as they slowly rose up to eclipse the sky in front of her. She'd heard through the chain of people that she kept in touch with that Morrigan was in this place instead of being in Orlais and felt a slight shiver of anticipation at the thought of seeing her again.

To relearn her lover's scent after so long of being apart from each other.

To rest beside her in a soft bed and hold Morrigan in her arms, as she had during the Blight after Morrigan had become comfortable with her touch.

To hear her soft breaths, when she woke up from a nightmare.

She rubbed at the tattered multicolored bangles that rested under her gloves as the Calling echoed insistently through her mind and sighed softly. Neria wished that she'd had more success in her journey thus far in finding a cure for the taint in her veins; she felt that she owed it to Alistair for putting him on Ferelden's throne and her remaining Warden recruits.

There a few more ideas of places that she knew that she should be looking, but Neria was tired. So very tired of looking for secrets to the Taint that mightn't have a cure and being so very alone on her journey. Her heart wanted to be selfish and put desire before her duties as a Grey Warden Commander.

"Halt! Who goes there!"

That voice. 

She knows the owner of it, though the voice itself is deeper while worn down by time and age. Neria has fond memories of him from their days in the Ferelden Circle before the Blight even though he was never within her romantic interests such as they were at the time.

Neria raises her head from staring the horse's mane in front of her and looks up towards the top of the battlements. And there he is, looking like a golden lion with the sun's rays arcing out behind him as Inquisition helmets flit around him.

"I am Warden Commander Surana. I am looking for safe walls to rest behind after my travels." She says calmly as a breeze flows gently around her.

"Let the Warden Commander in!"

 

"We welcome you to the Inquisition and Skyhold, Warden-Commander Surana."

The Inquisitor is a young Dalish Elf standing before the throne of her organization she's wearing Dalish Robes that bare the sigil of her Clan. She makes for a beautiful figure in Neria's mind, but not quite the person that she came to find in this place.

Morrigan's magical aura she can sense is strong in Skyhold.

"I thank you for allowing me entrance into your stronghold, Inquisitor Lavellan," Neria says with a stiff bow.

When she looks up, Neria meets the younger elf's gaze calmly and waits for the question that she knows is coming. She's well aware that the Inquisitor had banished the Grey Wardens from Thedas, so it must be a curiosity that the Warden-Commander of Ferelden has come to Skyhold.

"I'm sure that everyone is waiting to know why you have come here, Warden-Commander though that can hold for now. I'm sure you are tired from your journey to Skyhold, my people have set up rooms for your use. I extend an invitation for you to join my circle and me at dinner tonight." Lavellan says as she tilts her head slightly, a small smile gracing her stoic features.

"I accept your dinner invitation, Inquisitor Lavellan. It has been a while since I last ate and slept behind safe walls." Neria responded softly, inclining her head respectfully.

"Excellent! A servant will now take you to a room set up for your use." Lavellan says with a gesture towards a waiting servant boy.

"Thank you, Inquisitor."

The servant gestures for Neria to follow him and the two of them leave the throne room in silence, walking through a series of hallways where people quickly move out of the way and whisper to each other with wide eyes as she walks past.

They stop before a grand, ancient looking door and the boy opens the door for her.

"Here is your room, milady. There will be other servants on hand to tend to your needs as they arise."

"Thank you."

She watches the young man leave and closes the door behind himself before Neria unhooks her staff from behind her back to lean it against the wall. Sighing softly, she walks over to the bed and lays down on it for a quick nap.

The dining hall is full of animated chatter that quiets for a moment when she finds the room and then returns to a loud volume as she looks around. She found Morrigan and her son immediately, Neria planned on sitting with her. Her plan, however, is quickly dashed to pieces, when Leliana immediately appears at her side.

"Good evening, Warden-Commander Surana."

"Good evening, Sister Nightingale. What can I do for you?" Neria asked softly, masking her annoyance at being stopped.

"The Inquisitor extends you an invitation to dine beside her and her circle tonight," Leliana answers calmly, her sharp eyes watching Neria. "It would look good for you in the eyes of all here who are outside of the Inquisitor's circle. Do not worry, Neria, Morrigan will still be here."

"Are you so positive about that? That she will not vanish in the next blink?"

"This is not the Blight, Neria. She will still be here. Morrigan has not yet finished her duties here as ordered by the Empress of Orlais." Leliana smiles slightly. You and she will have time to see each other before the events that now lay before us these days have finished. Now come along, old friend."

Neria said nothing and followed Leliana to the Inquisitor's table where she was seated by the Antivan Ambassador and Cullen. She smiled inwardly at the thought that Cullen had left the Templars and Chantry behind to join the Inquisition. It was a good look for him, she thought privately to herself.

She listened quietly to the chatter around her as she ate from the bowl of meaty soup in front of her. The soup had a spice that she hadn't tasted before in her travels.

"May I ask why you have come to Skyhold, Warden-Commander? When we last contacted you, you said that you were searching for a cure to the Taint all Grey Wardens carry. Were you successful in the venture?"

Neria looked up from her soup to find the Ambassador looking at her curiously along with Inquisitor Lavellan and Cullen. As well as Leliana and the rest of the Inquisitor's circle that had joined them.

She wiped at her mouth with a cloth before answering.

"My current trail of clues has run dry, unfortunately, Ambassador. I have some other hints to follow, but for now, I wished to be among friendlier faces rather than being on the road alone while I looked for more information."

"Hmm, please call me Josephine. Perhaps I could make some inquiries on your behalf among our allies, Commander. And conceivably there is something hidden amongst the Inquisitor's collections here in Skyhold." Josephine said as she glanced at the Inquisitor.

"That is acceptable. It would be interesting to see if our libraries had anything that might be helpful to Commander Surana's search." Lavellan stated, looking thoughtful at the hunt for knowledge.

She tried to ignore the thrill that she felt knowing that Morrigan was watching her. She also tried to ignore the knowing look that Cullen was giving her as well.

*

She had expected that Cullen would confront her, but she hadn't expected him to call her into his office like an errant child. Nor had she expected Leliana to be there.

Neria stopped in the doorway of his office when their eyes immediately found her; she felt a little like a trapped mouse cornered by two cats.

"I received your summons, Commander. What did you wish to speak of?" she asked softly.

For a few moments, Cullen looked at her while Leliana watched her like a hawk after prey before he eventually answered.

"We wanted to make sure that you weren't a spy for the enemy, Corypheus." He stated, looking pained at the thought.

"A spy? Impossible." Neria said immediately.

"Is it? I've compared notes with Commander Cullen on what we knew about you." Leliana interjected calmly.

"And? What have you decided?" Neria asked, feeling somewhat amused at their combined interrogation.

"That you are either a spy sent by Corypheus or that you have given up on your search," Leliana said calmly. "The Neria Surana, we know, doesn't give up in her plans. Not even during the Blight did you turn toward safer grounds."

"The one safe place that I had known was destroyed during the Blight and later dissolved in the chaos of the Mages and Templar rebelling," Neria said calmly. "Though I do understand your concern about Corypheus and potentially being an agent of his unknowingly. Perhaps though I can give you a better answer."

"Which is?"

"This Calling false or otherwise is real enough to the Wardens and me. Like my brethren, I am scared too. I'm tired of being alone out there if the end is coming then I would rather face it among friends than alone on the road among enemies." Neria stated matter factly.

Silence falls between them before Cullen gently pats her shoulder awkwardly.

"I am sorry about our suspicion of you, Neria." He said simply.

"Don't apologize, Cullen. Either of you. These are troubling times; I understand your concern." She replied with an ease that she did not feel. "Please inform your Inquisitor that I am happy to help if my assistance is required."

*

Days later, she found herself wandering Skyhold and found Morrigan's son in the gardens by accident. Neria watched him play in silence as people realized that she was there and started whispering amongst themselves before she eventually realized that Morrigan was standing beside her.

She had daydreamed their reunion many nights on the road and while each time had been different; Neria found that she wondered what Morrigan would say to her now. Looking at her once companion and friend now, Neria could see that this was no daydream or a hallucination brought on by heatstroke.

Together they watched the young boy play before Morrigan touched her wrist lightly as a sign that Neria knew instinctively that meant she should follow the other woman from the garden.

Morrigan leads her first to a nearby hot spring just beyond the walls of Skyhold and far from the lower camps in the area. There are high stone walls around the hot spring which makes Neria believe that they won't be overheard by the curious without her or Morrigan knowing that they are nearby.

For a few moments, Morrigan impassively stares at her in silence with arms crossed over her chest. An uninviting stance with her as Neria had seen Morrigan adopt many a time during the Blight. Eventually, it is Morrigan who breaks the silence before Neria.

"When last we wrote before the events of yonder year arose, you were on the course to find and locate a cure for the Blight you carry within. What changed?"

Neither her tone nor expression gave anything away where her thoughts were concerned. Though it was enough to remind Neria of one of her former instructors in the Tower who was always cross with the young mages and none of them knew why. She swallows down the stone in her throat.

"Many things changed. For one, the Calling echoes tauntingly in my mind since the rise of Corypheus. False or not, it makes my brethren desperate and dangerous." She answered quietly.

"What about you, Neria? Are you not as desperate and dangerous as the other Wardens? Are you a threat to my son and everyone within the Inquisition?" Morrigan demands fear and a desire to protect breaking her stoic mask. 

"Desperate yes. And perhaps yes to being a danger. But I am not desperate enough to try and take on the Old Gods with demons. I am only a desperate woman who is tired of being alone without anyone to watch my back." Neria responds just as hotly. "I am just a lonely woman who is giving in to her desires above the duty I gave myself."

"And what just is it that you desire, Neria Surana of the Grey Wardens?" Morrigan asked softly, her hands clutching tightly at her upper arms.

"To be with you and your son as the end comes. To not be lonely at night with just a fire for company." Neria answers immediately. "That is my greatest of wants right now, Morrigan."

"Greatest of your desires indeed," Morrigan repeats slowly. "I think that I can help you with that one, my friend."

A slow predatory smile appears on Morrigan's beautiful face as her standoffish stance relaxes, Neria takes it as a sign to move closer to Morrigan's side. She gently leans into Morrigan's space and the left half of her body, letting Morrigan see the movement of her arms as they slowly wrap around her.

"Thank you," Neria whispers into the side of Morrigan's neck. "I had half expected you would say no to me, Morrigan."

"Mmm, I almost did. I will admit that I have much desired to see you as well. And," Morrigan answered softly as she slowly hugs her back. "And it has been some time since I last hugged someone who was not half my size."

"It will be interesting to see how your son reacts to having to share you with another person," Neria comments calmly.

"Indeed. It will be an unusual time as you said for all of us." Morrigan said as she led the way back to Skyhold, holding Neria's hand in hers.

 

Months following:

It wasn't that they had told each other a lie that it would not be difficult for the three of them to get used to each other among the chaos of the Inquisition, but Neria found that she enjoyed it. If it was anything, it signified to her that she was no longer alone and with Morrigan again.

And she liked that Keiran had grown to accept her as well - both as the former interloper in the dynamic that he and Morrigan had shared, but also as his mother's lover and adoptive mother. Something that made her feel warm and wanted.

When they weren't training Keiran together or separately, Neria often found herself with Morrigan scouring the books among the Inquisitor's collection of books looking for any hidden clues that might restart her search for the cure. 

They also spent time together on private walks with Keiran often running ahead as they searched for local herbs needed for spells or medicines that Neria had been using to ease the ache of the Calling in her mind.

The two relearned the gentle headiness of the other's touch as they relearned each other in the comfort of their bed.

 

On the day after Corypheus had fallen, Neria blinked the sleepiness out of her mind and realized as she listened to the sound of Morrigan's breath that her mind was mercifully silent for the first time in many long months.

Smiling softly, she leaned over and kissed Morrigan's cheek lightly.

"I love you, my heart."

"Mmmm, and I love you as well, beloved."


End file.
